A big runner's chronicles given to encourage and inform other new runners and discuss various topics related to training, racing, Houston area running, the Houston Striders Running Club, HARRA (Houston Area Road Runners Association), and other health related issues.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Started weight training

I started some beginner weight training yesterday. I found a web site that I like called The Training Station, Inc. I'm going to follow the beginner's workout plan. I like it because it starts out slow, with 1 set x 15 reps and 12 exercises the first week. Just the basics. There are printouts for each week (6 weeks for the beginner program). From week to week, the exercised are changed up a bit, too.

Bill was talking about running on a treadmill the other day. For my warmup and cooldown, I did some treadmill running. I actually enjoyed it. Like Bill, I'm not sure if the thing is calibrated correctly. I think Bill was feeling like he was faster than the computer was saying. I felt like I was slower than what the computer was saying. I was running at about 14:30 pace according to the computer but felt like I was running well over 15:00. The effort really felt easy. Another thought is that the temp in the gym was set to 67 degrees. If that's what a little cooler temp and a controlled humidity does for me, well bring on the cooler temps. That's going to be awesome.

This leads me to a question. Should I record my warmup and cooldown in my running log when I lift weights? I ended up running 1.35 miles in the total of 20 minutes warmup + cooldown. I guess I defintely want these miles recorded for my shoes. But should they be recorded as training miles? What does everyone else do? I know, I know. Who really cares, right? Just do what I want to do, right? I'm just curious what others do.

I count 'em. First of all, because as Steve knows, Rick is always right! No seriously, I gotta count what I can since I'm not one of those 50-miles a week kind of people.

Why do I count it? A couple of reasons. First and foremost, a mile here, a mile there - that too adds up on your shoes. We start speed work next week and even doing odd intervals I'll still note my total mileage for each post because then it helps me track when I've reached 350-400 miles on my shoes.

Also, I consider my warm-up mile to be just as important as the rest and if I'm slowly increasing the speed of my warm-up, then noting it and putting that info to good use is a good thing.

Don't forget to set the incline to 1.5 or 2% if you use the treadmill on a regular basis to get a more realistic representation of running on the road.